Dan Elliott says it'll be a big summer for Syracuse's The Monterays

Courtesy of Dan ElliottDan Elliott and The Monterays are still going strong in Syracuse and Central New York.

Singer Dan Elliott was as enthusiastic as ever describing his big weekend coming up with The Belmonts in Iowa.

You can read about it in my Music Notes column in today's Weekend section of The Post-Standard.

Elliott was equally as charged up about the upcoming year with The Monterays, the Syracuse band he's been in since 1967. Last year, they celebrated the 40th anniversary of their hit song "If Wishes Were Horses."

Already, he's got the band booked to play Taste of Syracuse again. That's a natural because Elliott's day job is as sales and marketing manager for Galaxy Broadcasting, which owns and puts on Taste of Syracuse.

There also will be several shows in Syracuse parks, the All You Need Is Liverpool festival and five dates at Yesterday's Royal club in Sylvan Beach.

A big gig, he says, will be at the East Syracuse July Fourth Fireworks. That coincides with his 40th reunion for East Syracuse High School. "Everybody will be there," he says, smiling widely.

Elliott says he's happy his vision for The Monterays still works.

"It's sunshine summer stuff," he says. "That was the greatest era all-time, as far as I'm concerned. I loved it, that mid-60s music before the heavy stuff came out. That's the direction I want to appeal to with The Monterays."